Strategies for Effective Facilitation

Learning Assistants in Physics

Credit: Learning Assistant Alliance

“One of the most important things I learned is just to hang back more than you think you should at some points, and let them work through problems. I find that when I jump in too quickly than they haven’t really solidified their ideas so they are very unsure and when somebody does come to the correct answer, they are very quick to just agree rather than argue it through. Typically, when I hang back and just watch a little bit longer, they argue things out and they really come to form a solid idea on their own and that’s easier to build off, even if it’s an incorrect idea.”

Kenji Kanagawa, CU Physics LA (1.08 min)